How Do I Make My Soap Last?

Hygiene products can get expensive, but do they have to be? Does having great skin have to break the bank? Packer’s Pine doesn’t think so, but we get that plenty of people are living the struggle. We’ve got some great tips to keep your soap on your skin, instead of washing your money down the drain.

1. Store your soap away from water.

While shower caddies and soap trays are convenient ways to keep your soap nearby, sometimes their placement can leave something to be desired. If your storage spot puts your bar of soap directly in the way of water, you’re washing away soap every second the water is on. Instead of leaving your soap squished into a corner of the shower, try using a dedicated space that’s out of the way of the water.

2. Let your soap dry out.

If you’ve ever taken a wet bar of soap, set it to the side, and come back a few hours later, you may have noticed that the top half of the bar was dry, but the bottom was a mushy, wet mess. When you picked up the soap, you probably left behind a pile of mush that stuck to the spot you left it.

Instead of letting your soap sit in a pile of water, invest in a soap dish that allows your soap to drain and fully dry between showers. Not only does this prevent you from slowly losing soap each time you pick up the bar, but it also prevents mold, yeast, and bacteria from growing in the damp mush you leave behind. As a result, your soap will last longer, stay cleaner, and work better on your body.

3. Use a soap saver.

A soap saver is a cloth mitten that you can place your bar of soap in. Not only does this keep your soap handy, easier to keep hold of, and help you work up a lather, but it also creates a perfect storage spot for your bar of soap. Hanging your soap saver off your bathtub tap, shower head, or another spot allows your saver to drain, which in turn dries your soap, keeps it clean, and keeps all your soap right where you want it.

Some soap savers even come with a soft side for regular washing and a rough, textured side that can be used for exfoliation. If you struggle with rough skin, exfoliating once or twice each week will remove rough, outer layers of skin and eventually get your skin feeling soft and supple. Not only does it make your skin more comfortable, but occasional exfoliation is great for keeping your skin healthy too.

Another benefit of a soap saver is that you can use scraps from old soap bars just as well as a fresh bar. Place the scraps in your soap saver and get lathering just like you would with anything else. Instead of throwing away those scraps, use every last bit of your soap so nothing is wasted.

4. Use a washcloth to create more lather.

A classic shower mistake is to use the bar directly on your entire body. For people who look for a lather to feel clean, this means lathering over and over, using far more soap than is necessary. Instead, using a washcloth, soap saver, or loofah will allow you to get the lather you’re looking for, without using layers and layers of soap.

There’s no difference in the degree of cleanliness you can achieve with a washcloth versus overzealous lathering. In fact, using a washcloth or loofah will actually help remove dead skin and excess oil from the skin, while lathering directly with a soap bar will leave that behind. In short, using a washcloth will get you cleaner with less soap.

5. Use cold water when taking a shower as hot water can dissolve the soap quickly.

Did you know that many soaps contain fat? Ingredients like goat milk, coconut oil, avocado oil, or shea butter are common additives in natural and industrially made soaps. These ingredients help soften the skin by keeping moisture trapped against the skin’s surface. While these ingredients are great for your skin, they do make bars of soap more vulnerable to heat. Hot water softens these fats and makes the bars of soap easier to dissolve as water runs over it.

If you’re interested in stretching your bar of soap as far as possible, try switching to cool or cold water. This will make the bar firmer and less likely to melt away as you lather up. Additionally, the benefits of cool showers are well-documented. Cool showers are gentler on the skin and less likely to dry your skin out. They may even help boost your immune system, improve circulation, and relieve inflammation of the skin.

For people with sensitive skin or skin conditions like eczema, psoriasis, or even acute conditions resulting from bites from ticks, mosquitos, or other insects, using cold water and soap with healing ingredients like pine tar can promote relief from pain, itchy skin, and inflammation.